How Marketing Budgets Stack Up Across Industries in 2024
Understanding how your marketing budget compares to industry benchmarks can be a powerful tool for planning and strategy. Are you allocating enough resources to stay competitive? What trends are shaping how companies invest in marketing? Based on insights from the latest research, here’s a breakdown of key marketing budget trends by industry.
Marketing Budgets by Industry: A Snapshot
The research shows that marketing budgets make up an average of 11% of total company budgets. However, this figure varies widely across industries. Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies lead the way, allocating nearly a quarter of their overall budgets to marketing. In contrast, industries like manufacturing and energy allocate significantly less.
Marketing Budgets as a Percentage of Total Budgets by Industry
| Industry | Percentage of Total Budget |
|---|---|
| Consumer Packaged Goods | 24% |
| Consumer Services | 18% |
| Tech/Software/Biotech | 15% |
| Communications/Media | 14% |
| Mining/Construction | 12% |
| Transportation | 7% |
| Manufacturing | 6% |
| Energy | 5% |
Marketing Spend as a Percentage of Revenue
Another lens to evaluate marketing investment is by revenue. Tech companies dominate this category, dedicating 13.8% of revenue to marketing. This strategic focus highlights the critical role of marketing in driving growth for innovation-focused sectors.
Marketing Spend as a Percentage of Revenue
| Industry | Percentage of Revenue |
|---|---|
| Tech/Software/Biotech | 13.8% |
| Consumer Packaged Goods | 10.9% |
| Consumer Services | 10.0% |
| Communications/Media | 8.0% |
| Mining/Construction | 7.5% |
| Manufacturing | 4.5% |
| Energy | 3.0% |
What’s in a Marketing Budget?
Marketing budgets vary not just in size but also in composition. While most companies include advertising and direct marketing expenses, other categories—like marketing analytics, social media, or employee costs—are often excluded.
Inclusion of Key Expenses in Marketing Budgets
| Expense Category | Percentage of Companies Including It |
|---|---|
| Advertising/Direct Marketing | 61.3% |
| Social Media | 51.4% |
| Marketing Analytics | 49.8% |
| Marketing Employee Costs | 47.9% |
Strategic Drivers of Larger Marketing Budgets
Certain organizational factors correlate strongly with larger marketing budgets:
- Marketing’s Role as a Revenue Driver: Companies where marketing leads revenue growth allocate up to 14.5% of their total budgets to marketing.
Social Media ROI: Higher returns from social media investments result in budgets averaging 15.7% of total company spend.
Analytics-Driven Decision-Making: Companies using analytics extensively have marketing budgets that are 70% larger than those that don’t.
How Does Your Budget Compare?
If you’re a CMO, benchmarking your budget against these insights can help ensure you’re investing strategically. Whether it’s increasing spend on high-ROI activities like social media or leveraging analytics to drive decisions, these benchmarks offer a clear roadmap for success.
Ready to Take Your Marketing Strategy Further?
At BITCADET, we specialize in helping CMOs optimize their marketing investments. From analytics tools to ROI-driven strategies, we partner with industry leaders to deliver results. Let’s discuss how we can elevate your marketing strategy.
